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Well this is exciting. Can you imagine never having to get out your phone, ID or anything when you arrive at airport security, enter the Sky Club or board a Delta jet? It seems it is coming faster than you ever dreamed of and Delta is trying it at DCA. I reviewed the Sky Club in DCA but that was before the new test using biometrics to enter.

A few bits to know. You need to be part of CLEAR to use this and if you are a frequent flyer, and don’t have clear, you need to join the party. It is a game changer and, it would seem, will continue to be so moving forward.

Reader Paul was in the club yesterday and got to try it out and was kind enough to provide a few quick shots of the process and the following report:

“The scanner for the DCA Sky Club is located on the desk where you check in. Currently you scan your fingers and it pops up on the Delta computer showing you are cleared for entry. To be a part of the working system you must be a part of Clear and have your finger prints previously scanned. I walked to the counter and put my fingers on the scanner and they told me there was an error but it did show I was good to enter. There have been some small issues like this but they say the system has been working well.

The employees agree that for now it takes the same amount of time to either be finger print scanned or have them scan your boarding document. We both agree the system will have its biggest impact when lines into the Sky Clubs are long, such as the ATL weather/computer incident. This should allow you to bypass the line and have direct access to the club. I am hoping this will expand to other locations in the near future.

For those who have not signed up for Clear this is another reason to take the few minutes it takes to do so. During the ATL weather/computer issue I was the only one in the Clear line as hundreds to thousands were waiting in the Pre-Check and regular security lines. Security took three minutes to complete and be in the terminal as I hunted for a (departing) DCA flight.

Side note: DCA has the new boarding process and it is working very well. The gate agents tell me the process is much faster and organized.” – RenésPoints.com reader Paul

Thanks Paul for that great review. I am “CLEAR-ly” a huge and mega fan of the technology. In DTW a week back I was through security in seconds while my wife with TSA Pre-Check had a rather long line to wait in (she gave me a look when I said see you on the other side – but it was for the sake of the blog to test 😉 ).

Now I know some folks have some reservations about this technology and it does give me pause to think about that if my finger prints are stolen or compromised by an IT failure on CLEAR or DELTA’s part how can I get a new set of finger prints (clearly I can’t – I get that). I hope this never happens.

Next, I will still have a paper backup for all kinds of reasons including helping my bump chances and more but to not have to get the paper copy out until I get to the gate would be fantastic.

As much as I fly I cannot wait for everything Delta to just require my fingers to fly. What do you think about this technology. Are you embracing it or in fear of what is next? – René

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7 comments

I love CLEAR. But CLEAR uses both fingerprints and iris scans. My fingerprints have worn out and I always need to go for the iris scan when I use CLEAR. It looks like DL only uses the fingerprints, which means a problem for me. I also understand that fingerprints are on deck for boarding soon, instead of a boarding pass. Again, DL better get the back up iris scan because I am not the only person in the world with worn out prints.

Current Clear member and super happy to see this technology. Bring it on and expand its usage. My father used this technology back in the 1970’s in the navy for his nuclear submarine clearance so it has plenty of history to prove it’s success.

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